Sennheiser keeps its Momentum with these stylish buds

The Sennheiser Momentum In-Ear headphones (MSRP: $99.95) have a stylish design that complements their great audio quality. Featuring a tangle-resistant cable, in-line mic/remote and an angular design that maximizes comfort, the Momentums are built to be headphones for the long haul.

If you want music rich with plenty of thumping bass without losing valuable treble notes or clean vocals, these have got your back. The Momentum is also free of distortion, come with a sturdy case and block a large portion of outside noise. Just be careful of two things: the attached microphone isn't as good as it should be at this price, and your only option is a black-and-red color scheme.

Sennheiser has skillfully addressed an industry that's become equally focused on style and substance. The Momentum In-Ear headphones meet that challenge via an attractive design that centers around a two-tone color scheme and detailed components.

To aid long-term listeners, the casing of the in-ears is angled to 15 degrees to better fit the shape of the ear, and include an assortment of silicon sleeves, ranging from extra small to large, to ensure a perfect fit.

On the cable you'll find an in-line controller that comes with the standard buttons for music and phone controls in addition to the ability to skip songs and reject incoming calls.

The Momentum feels strong enough to take a light beating, but keep in mind that they're still in-ears, requiring a certain level of delicacy throughout their lifetime. With proper care, however, you can probably expect multiple years of use.

When you find a comfortable fit and start listening to your tunes you'll notice that these aren't just a pretty pair of in-ears. There's a solid emphasis on bass that'll make any chest-thumping songs a joy to listen to. The middle, high-mid and upper treble frequencies are also given their due. You'll be able to pick out the vocals and string instruments with greater clarity, while still enjoying the heavier bass sounds.

The in-line remote comes with a microphone to give you full compatibility with your smartphone. Unfortunately, this was one of the few places we noticed the Momentum stumbles, as the audio quality just didn't quite reach the levels you'd expect for this price.

In-ears have a head start on their bigger over- and on-ear cousins when it comes to keeping your music in and other noises out. When you use the Momentum, outside sound will be dropped to half or even a quarter of its original volume. If you've got a noisy commute or chatty office and would rather listen to your favorite artist, the isolation really helps.

Using the software in our lab, we determined that the Momentum In-Ear produces clean, distortion-free sound. Even in the ranges where you'd expect to pick up the most audio junk, the Momentum's issues were minor enough that only very sensitive audiophiles will hear anything out of place.

These are a great pair of headphones that have excellent audio quality with plenty of isolation and very little distortion. As long as you can look past the setbacks in terms of mic quality, and your aesthetic taste matches Sennheiser's, these are a worthy investment.

If, instead, you're looking for in-ears that offer comparable audio performance for less money, we'd recommend the JBL Synchros Reflect. The JBL is constructed as workout in-ears and might come with a lot of features you might not care about if you're looking for a standard pair of headphones. But, the bass performance outranks the Momentum's and can be found at a cheaper price (MSRP: $59.95), though they also sacrifice a healthy amount of isolation in the process.